The Soul Warden
by RCT DELTA 20
Summary: When a batch of hollows escapes the Soul Society it's up to Gakorou Hanzo to persue with them, but when he arrives in a Blighted Ferelden he must team up with Commander of the Grey, Ardias Kad, and end the Blight before it's too late.
1. Chapter 1

**The Soul-Warden**

**Chapter 1 – The Beginning **

Gakorou Hanzo, the 6th seat of the 9th Division of the 13 Court Guard Squads, had been tasked with investigating a disturbance in the Precipice World. A batch of Hollows, which were being transported to the Soul Society for experimentation, had gotten loose. Strangely, the hollows had vanished from the Precipice World. Their Spiritual Pressures had disappeared completely and it was Gakorou's job to find out why. He believed that he had found the answer. Before him was a gaping hole in the side of the Precipice World leading to what he thought to be an alternate dimension. If that were the case and in said alternate dimension the Soul Society didn't exist then it's inhabitants would fall prey to these hollows and they would have no way to defend themselves. He considered calling for back-up in rounding up the escaped hollows quickly but it would take the reinforcements time to reach him, during which many lives could be lost. After a moment of contemplation he decided to venture into this new world on his own. He left behind a message to inform the rest of his squad where he was going so as not to worry them. And with a clear conscience he stepped beyond the threshold of the Precipice World and into that of somewhere foreign and new.

_Where am I?_

"Commander, there are too many! We must fall back!" A red figure shouted as he swung his sword at his advocacy. The battlefield was covered in bodies, some human, elf and dwarf. The rest may have resembled the other corpses but they were not that of a human, elf or dwarf. Those who were still standing continued to fight against their enemies whether it was with sword, hammer, axe, arrow or staff.

"I am Ardias Kad, Commander of the Grey Wardens of Ferelden and I have never lost a battle, nor been bested by any darkspawn," a heavily armoured figure shouted to the red clad figure as he withdrew a massive double edged sword from the head of the ogre he had just slain. "and I am not about to start today!" He raised his sword into the air and the runic lines that engraved the blade which spanned from the pommel of the blade, up the light green shaft of the handle, passed the large dragons eye gem in the centre of the blade to the very tip of the sword itself lit up with a bright yellow glow. A strong wind began to blow around the blade, encasing it in a strong magical presence. This presence began to turn the very air around the blade dark with red and blue patches peeking out of their cloudy prison, giving a glimpse of the power that was stored inside this cage of air and pressure. When the spell casters of the remaining grey warden forces saw what was going on, they threw up protective barriers around their comrades. While it wouldn't be enough to deflect the blade of an opponent, it would be sufficient in protecting them from the strike that was to come. With an almighty roar, Ardias Kad screamed "Dragon's Fury!" and the energy that had built up within his blade was released and scorched the land around him. What was once a dismal green marsh was transformed into a barren wasteland. Those who were protected by the barriers of the mages were spared the agonising fate of those who were caught in this blast. Their flesh was ripped from their bodies before being rendered to ashes. The vast dawkspawn army, which had massacred many innocents and threatened thousands more, that had once stood before the army of the Grey, those who had answered the call to defend the weak and helpless, was now nothing more than a pile of ash being bested by the wind as it carried them away. Those who remained alive began to cheer for the day had been won. Those near to Ardias rushed over to help him as he had plunged his sword into the ground and was leaning upon it.

"Commander, are you alright?" The red clad figure asked. He was Christopher Bright, Ardias's 3rd in command. He was a tanned man in his late twenties with short black hair and dark brown eyes. He wore red steel armour traditionally found in the Free Marches but was born in Ferelden and thus serves there also. He was accompanied by a few mage healers who began to tend to Ardias's fatigue and other minor injuries. Ardias sat down and allowed the healers to do their job. His sword remained stuck in the earth and had returned to its more calmer appearance with the air of magic that had surrounded only moments ago slowly beginning to disperse. The blade itself became clear and began to act like a mirror for its master. Ardias looked upon his reflection and stared at his figure. He wore heavy armour with a lot of protection being given to his right sword arm. His shoulder was covered in armour and his gauntlet reached up his arm to protect a majority of what was left unprotected. His left arm was given the exact opposite. There was no armour from the shoulder down to the elbow where he had a light steel guard protecting his wrist and a light grey glove to protect his hand. His breastplate was covered in straps and other pieces of armour, the most noticeable piece being a large round piece of metal in the centre of everything else. He wore light armour around his legs and feet which gave him high agility and good protection. He had long jet black hair that he kept tied up in a ponytail that fell across his right shoulder. His face was without blemish or scar and with his deep blue eyes he gave the appearance of someone in their late twenties. However, the truth was far from that. He wasn't even twenty years old yet, from accounts made from many of his brave soldiers, he was the fiercest warrior this side of Thedas.

"That was quite a fight my friend. Glad to see that you are okay." A voice called from behind Ardias. He turned to see who was speaking to him. There stood a man carrying a wooden staff with a large blade attached to it at the bottom. This warrior wore a brown rope covered in dust, dirt, blood and numerous tears. Under it he wore brown leather armour traditional to Ferelden. His facial appearance matched that of a great Warden from the past who died during the 5th Blight with the rest of the Wardens at Ostagar, Duncan. Though the man that stood before Ardias was not Duncan but his 2nd in command, Marcus Dragonof. Back when Ardias had first joined the order, at the age of sixteen, it was Marcus who had been his mentor and from then on he taught him how to fight, who to talk to to gain access to some of the more restricted materials in the vault and everything that he would need to be a successful Grey Warden. Now he was the Commander of the Grey he was in charge of all the Grey Wardens in Ferelden bar Marcus who was the only person that Ardias ever confided in. Before every battle he would consult with him as to what would be the best tactic to winning the battle with the lowest amount of casualties. He was more like his father than a friend.

"Yeah, can't believe how many there were this time."

"Do you think that, with this many dawkspawn, well have an Archdemon appearing soon enough?" Marcus asked, knowing full well what the answer was.

"We've had the same dream. He's out there somewhere." Ardias replied as he stood up against the protest of his healers. "I don't think we'll have to wait long before he rears his ugly head." He picked up his sword, brought it round in a quick swing, flicking the dawkspawn blood collected upon its edges onto the ground, then strapped it to his back.

"You think he'll appear here?" Christopher asked.

"We haven't received any reports of dawkspawn attacks except from this region of the Wilds. If we need to we can easily…" Ardias was cut short when a deafening roar erupted into the sky. Everyone turned to see where it had originated from. On the ground lay many of the young warriors who had come to fight with the Wardens to protect their land and loved ones, blood spilt by an unseen enemy. Well, unseen by all but Ardias Kad who could see the form of a giant demon. It was dark blue with a large white mask and a massive hole in its chest. "What in Andraste is that thing?" Ardias stammered.

"What thing?" Marcus asked, looking around in different directions to see what Ardias was looking at. Before Ardias could answer him he felt a tremendous pressure pushing down on him. It was too weak to pose him any real threat to his life but in his weakened state he couldn't stand under it and fell onto his knees. He couldn't even speak. While everyone ran around to try and find the assailant or tried to help Ardias, he could do nothing but stare as the demon with the white mask made its way towards him. He tried to move, but was forced to stay in his knees due to the immense pressure growing even stronger with each step that this masked demon took towards him. Everyone that stood in its way were either trampled or eaten. Those who remained just stood and watch while their friends were killed.

"Move Ardias. Move." Ardias said to himself as he pushed with every ounce of his body to try and stand under the pressure that was growing on him. "I will not lose now. I can't lose now." Slowly but surely he began to return to his feet, but at the pace he was going at the demon would be upon him before he could even draw his sword. "Maker, empower your servant!" Ardias shouted, eyes closed and awaiting the end. Then as if his cry for help was answered by the Maker he heard it. The words of his salvation. "Drain, Nekoyasha" (Cat Demon). He opened his eyes and saw the demon fall to the ground and disappear into the wind with a massive cut down its mask and in front of Ardias stood a man dressed in long black robes with long dark blonde hair and what looked like a combat knife in his hands.

"Well, you weren't that difficult now were you?" The stranger spoke. "Guess that's three down and nine to go." He turned to look at Ardias.

_Who are you?_


	2. Chapter 2

**The Soul-Warden**

**Chapter 2 – Introductions**

Ardias stared up at the stranger who had saved the lives of his men and himself. The stranger turned to face Ardias. He had emerald green eyes, a kind face and looked like he was in his mid-twenties. He only looked at Ardias when he saw Ardias gawking at him.

"Are you real or just a figment of my imagination?" Ardias though out load.

"Who are you talking to?" Marcus asked.

"That man over there." Ardias replied pointing towards the stranger.

"Ardias there's no-one there." Marcus replied with a little bit of concern in his voice.

"Wait, you can't see him?" Ardias asked as he returned to his feet. Before he could get an answer, the stranger beckoned him to follow him as he walk away. "I'll be back in a minute. In the meantime, Marcus round up all those who are still alive and get them back to the keep. I'll meet you there soon."

"Where are you going sir?" Christopher asked.

"To get some answers." Ardias replied. He began to walk off after the stranger.

After they were some distance away from the battle field the stranger turned to him and spoke. ""You are the first person that I've met in this world who has been able to see me. That is most curious." The stranger said.

"So, judging by what you just said, does that mean you're a spirit?" Ardias asked.

"In a sense. My name is Gakorou Hanzo and I am a Shinigami."

A puzzled look appeared on Ardias's face. "A what now?"

"Ah, I've encounter my first problem. Dialog with the locals. How should I put this." Gakorou brought his finger and thumb to his chin and tried to think of how to explain. "Basically, I'm what you could call a Soul Reaper."

"You may have to explain yourself further Spirit." Ardias replied, hand reaching for his blade.

"I mean you no harm." Gakorou responded, also reaching for his own weapon, which took the form of a combat knife. "My job is to protect the souls of those who have died from evil souls, like that one you saw moments ago, called Hollows and escort them to the Seir… the Soul Society."

"I don't know what sort of spirit you are, but the Chantry has never taught about Soul Reapers or any Soul Society. The Maker protects." Ardias replied angrily, hand almost around the handle of his blade. "But they also don't teach of these hollow monster you speak of, yet I saw one with my own eyes." He lowered his arm to his side. "Speak quickly, I must return to my men as soon as possible."

"Thank you." Gakorou lowered his hand also. "The reason why this Chantry that you speak of doesn't talk about us is because we are not from your world." Gakorou began to explain how a batch of Hollows had entered into Ardias's world and how he had followed them. He said that he'd been here for a few days now and had managed to find and purify three of the hollows, including the one that attacked him.

"So, what does any of this have to do with me?" Ardias finally asked after Gakorou had finished.

"These Hollows seem to be attracted to those, Dawkspawn I think you called them, but why I'm not sure. All I know is today was the first incident that I've experienced when they went after living people, such as you and your men."

"I think I can answer that." Ardias replied. "My men and I are Grey Wardens. Basically we're the same as the Dawkspawn, only our job is to stop them from destroying our home. We have taken in the Dawkspawn taint and have not turned. This gives us the ability to sense Dawkspawn and we're the only ones who can kill their leader during an event called The Blight, the Archdemon. However, becoming a Grey Warden is a death sentence as the taint inside us will eventually kill us. That's probably why that Hollow attacked me and my men. It was hunting the Dawkspawn that we killed, sensed the taint inside us and attacked us. That's when you came and killed it."

"I guess that makes sense." Gakorou responded. "From what I can tell, this taint kills any who consume it, whether it's straight away or after a few years. That explains this strange spiritual pressure that I feel emanating off you and those Dawkspawn."

"If these things are after my men and the Dawkspawn, what will be your next course of action? Ardias asked.

"I'll go back to hunting the Hollows down. Once I'm done, I'll be leaving." And with that he began to walk away.

"Wouldn't it be easier to wait for the Hollows to come to you?" Ardias suggested, stopping Gakorou in his tracks.

"What do you mean?"

"If they're attacking both Dawkspawn and Grey Wardens then just wait for them to attack us. If they attack the Dawkspawn, they'll most likely kill them, meaning that there's less for my men and I to deal with. From time to time, most likely during a Dawkspawn attack, they might come after us. Then you can strike them down with one swing of your…" He stopped when he saw Gakorou's weapon. He started to snigger.

"Shut it." Gakorou responded.

"But it's sooooo tiny!" Ardias said inbetween giggles.

"I said shut it." Gakorou repeated.

"But look at it! It is sooo small! I bet it's funny to miss." Before Ardias could make another comment, Gakorou had drawn his blade and pointed it at Ardias.

"Do you want me to cut you?" He shouted, causing Ardias to snap out of his giggling fit.

"Sorry. As I was saying, you could wait for them to come to us, then strike them all down in one attack, or as many attempts as it takes."

"I don't know." Gakorou shrugged. "It might take too long."

"Well, if that's the way you feel, I won't stop you." He turned and began to walk away. "Though, I thought it would have made more sense to rest and wait in the laps of luxury for them to attack us rather than go out and attack them when you have a half-ass idea of where you are."

"Wait a minute. What's this about "laps of luxury"?" Gakorou asked. Ardias stopped walking and a large grin appeared on Ardias's face, though Gakorou couldn't see it.

"Didn't I mention, we're staying at our newly rebuild castle in this region, near the ruins of Ostagar, with servants, especially many fine young maidens, on hand to fulfil any requests my lieutenants and I have. I though you would have liked that? But if you want to go dancing in the cold, damp, dark woods, be my guest." He continued to walk away.

"Wait, I've changed my mind. I'll stay with you and your men, if the offers still open."

"Of course it's still open!" Ardias replied. (Knew I could get him to join me) He thought out load.

"What did you say?"

"Oh, nothing. But before you can follow me back to the castle, you might want to change into something a little more…fleshy."

Gakorou looked down at his body and nodded. "Yeah, good point. I'll be back in a minute." And with that he disappeared behind a bush. After half an hour he reappeared, only now he wore ropes found some Chasind. "How do I look?" He asked.

"To be honest, you look the same as you did before hand." Ardias admitted, though he could sense that something was different. He looked heavier than he did a few minutes before hand.

"Good. I'm glad that I brought my Gigai with me." Gakorou smirked before glancing at Ardias who, once again, had a confused look on his face.

"Huh?"

"Basically I used a device called a Gigai, which is basically a fake body that we soul reapers can use to interact with humans who can't see us in our spirit forms. It also conceals my spiritual pressure, meaning that the Hollows that I am after won't be able to detect me, allowing me to easily hunt them down and kill them when they appear."

"Ah huh, and where did you get the ropes from?" Ardias asked before picking up a strange smell coming from the garments and dreading to know the answer.

"I found them not too far from here. I'm sure that he won't mind me taking them."

"Ah man, you stole the clothes of a dead man?"

"What? No, of course not! He had plenty of others for sale."

"So you stole it from a merchant. Right, that makes sense, there has to be a settlement around here, though that doesn't explain the smell."

"Yeah, I fell in something on my way back here."

"Oh, well we can get that cleaned up when we get back to the keep. I've been gone long enough, my men will be wondering where I am. We can talk more after we've had a bite to eat, and you can explain more about these hollows and soul reapers you were talking about." Ardias began to walk away and beckoned Gakorou to follow him.

And so begins out tale of a Grey Warden and a Soul Reaper that will span, not only in this world, but also the next.


End file.
